System Upgrade Includes Yamaha DM2000, AD8HR System
BUENA PARK, CA (USA)— Slot machines, gaming tables, bars and lounges are standard issue in every casino. But if all slots are alike, not all lounges are.
 |
|
New touch screens, moving plasma displays, digital sound and lighting desks made Club 88 the jewel of Cache Creek. |
Club 88, a 600-seat entertainment lounge in Cache Creek Casino Resort, started life as a fairly simple lounge with a rather modest sound reinforcement system and a few plasma displays. But Cache Creek’s ideas about the space grew incrementally throughout a recent installation process. Club 88, which opened in early April 2004, now has a 30’ x 35’ stage and high performance sound reinforcement system with eight monitor mixes (plus room for expansion), a projection screen and a total of eight plasma screens. Sound reinforcement is based around a Yamaha DM2000V2 digital mixing console (with an 8-channel output card and three 8-channel AD8HR mic pres), Crown amps, a BSS 9088ii DSP processor, various cabinets from Renkus-Heinz and JBL.
Located in Brooks, California, 50 miles northwest of Sacramento and 90 miles northeast of the Bay Area, Cache Creek is owned and operated by the Rumsey Band of the Wintun Tribe. The $200-million Nevada-style resort, which traces its humble beginnings to a bingo hall, now includes a 200-room casino resort encompassing 415,000 square feet.
"Our executive team realized the potential of the entertainment space," says Cache Creek Technical Manager (Marketing Dept.) Mark Harman. "They had the vision, courage and resources to create a uniquely memorable one. The results exceeded all expectations."
 |
|
|
Complete recall and comprehensive onboard processing were deciding factors in choosing the Yamaha DM2000V2 for Club 88. |
Harman cites rapid show transitions as a labor-saving advantage of the DM2000V2. "We selected the DM2000V2 for superior audio quality and the compact footprint. Complete recall, comprehensive onboard processing, plus our confidence in the product’s reliability and the manufacturer’s customer service, were important in that choice. Recall gives you consistency of system settings, and not just from set to set. For example, if a band comes back a couple of weeks after playing Club 88, you can recall all their settings. Since the DM2000 has an abundance of high-quality built-in compressors and EQ, you can perform a complete recall more accurately than any operator could."
Systems design for the new property was by Kelley Technologies (Las Vegas, NV) working directly with lead project architect Irwin Bomba of the Las Vegas office of the Friedmutter Group, specialists in Native American gaming projects. Cache Creek project manager for Kelley was Marty Shurtleff; Kelley’s Joe Fasekas was responsible for overseeing Club 88 audio systems design and the casino music and paging system. Ceitronics, a San Jose-based system integrator, was installation contractor for the entire project, with project manager Jim Thielemann.
The combination of Renkus-Heinz monitors (both powered and passive), Crown amplification, BSS EQ, and a Yamaha digital console form a “base package” lounge audio system for Kelley Technologies.
"We’ve used these products again and again in our smaller, unmanned lounges," says Kelley audio systems designer Fasekas. "For larger lounges and showrooms like Club 88, we go to a larger console, often from Yamaha, with additional monitors from JBL, and BSS Soundweb processing. We developed a reputation for delivering quality systems, so while we’re flexible about what products we use, we don’t deviate from those that have given us exceptional performance, time after time."
"Managing the live gaming/live music interface in the casino environment always presents a challenge," says Harman. "We viewed it as an opportunity. Careful systems design, along with intelligent bookings and ongoing operational management, is key to making these spaces work. For instance, adding illuminated, color-changing dance pods reduced the size of the control booth, and the entertainment schedule plan was for multiple bands and a production show within a 24-hour period. These facts suggested to me that we should abandon the plan to install the large-format, analog console that already was on-order."
The DSP processor and subwoofer cabinets make it possible to morph the system from live performance to a hard-thumping night club to a small lounge system aiming into the casino.
"In our experience, it’s rare that a pit boss would allow live music in the gaming area," says Fasekas. "But this is exactly what the owners suggested. At certain times during the day, a three-piece group plays toward the lounge entrance, which opens on the gaming area. As systems designers, we were hesitant, but the owners knew what would work for them. Coverage is broad, but doesn’t extend deeply into the casino. It’s really turned out to be quite effective."
Like the original audio spec for Club 88, the video and lighting spec also expanded during the installation period. Club 88 has both an audio mixer and a lighting mixer; they share video control duties.
"We had a non-negotiable opening date," says Ceitronics’ Thielemann. "At the same time, the scope of the project had increased by 46 percent. The re-design of the lounge resulted in the most compressed schedule. Work on Club 88 was being finished hours before the doors opened."
Harman adds, "It was inspiring to be part of a team with Kelley and Ceitronics. Marty [Shurtleff] and Jim [Thielemann] really drove the project. With all this technology – touch screens, moving plasma displays, digital sound and lighting desks – operating successfully, Club 88 became the jewel of the resort."
